Wealth Creation Online: Retire By 40 Interview

I had some great feedback about my interview with Kevin from Invest it Wisely last week. If you haven’t already read it, you can see it here. I’ really looking forward to more of this interview series because we are going to get a lot more great tips, resources and personal insights from some very clever people blogging about personal finance.

My guest this week is Joe from Retire By 40. I’ve know Joe for a little while now, we started blogging at about the same time. Joe has a great blog, which you should definitely go and check out. Because he is such a nice (and clever) guy he has developed a really strong community that share some great personal finance information. I really liked Joe’s answers, particularly about why he decided to start blogging. I think it is great to work together with your partner on your personal finances and blogging about personal finance has really helped me focus on the things that matter to. Feel free to share your thoughts and feedback in the comments below as well.

Why do you blog and how long have you been doing it?

I started blogging to share our finances with Mrs. RB40. I take care of our finances and Mrs. RB40 needed to be brought up to speed. She didn’t know much about investing and I think her being the editor for Retire By 40 helped both of us tremendously. It’s a win-win situation. I also want to retire before I am 40 and the blog really helps me focus on that goal. The readers keeps me honest and I keep track of my progress on the blog. I’ve been blogging a little over a year.

Do you believe in budgets?

Yes, I believe making a budget is essential to spending less than you make. That said, we don’t keep a strict budget. We try to spend as little as possible and go over the cash flow at the end of the month. We’ll make note of problem areas and try to improve on that. It is very difficult to keep a strict budget and not many people can do it.

Who is your hero?

Financial Samurai who created Yakezie, a great Personal Finance Network. He has boundless energy and works very hard everyday. J Money at Budget are $exy is a great blogger also. His blog is a big hit and he never hesitates to help anyone.
The two bloggers think outside of themselves and created a network that is bigger than just a blog. That is very admirable to me.

What are some of your favorite wealth resources?

Mint is great for keeping track of your finances. My favorite finance book is the oldie, but goodie – Millionaire Next Door. It’s basic, but everyone should read it.

What is the worst financial mistake you have ever made?

Like many people, we purchased a condo during the bubble years – 2007 to be exact. That was dumb and I should have put it off a few more years. Another financial mistake was to put my 401k into the company stock. This was during the tech bubble when I just started investing. It seems the bubbles are my learning moments. 🙂

What is the best lifestyle decision you have ever made?

Moved from a 2,000 sq ft house to a 1,000 sq ft condo I mentioned above. All our bills went down and we like living in the city much more than the suburb. Well, the HOA bill went way up, but I think it’s offset by sharing one car, lower heating and electricity bills, and other factors.

What is the best piece of advice ever given to you?

My dad convinced me to invest in the 401k when I started my first job out of college. That was 15 years ago and now my 401k is worth about $300k. The market wasn’t that great and my investment choices were sketchy, but if I didn’t invest in the 401k, I would have spent that money.

Something that people that currently read your blog may not know about you?

This one is hard. I share a lot of things on my blog. How about this one? I play the ukulele. It’s a great lighthearted instrument and never fail to cheer me up. I used to play the guitar, but I like the ukulele these days.

An article written by someone else that you think everyone should read?

http://financiallyconsumed.com/wordpress/2011/08/30/she-is-the-man-now/ My good buddy, Hunter, wrote about how women are outpacing men in the workforce.

An article written by you that you would like everyone to read?

http://retireby40.org/2011/07/live-on-onepay-check/ I wrote this post on trying to live on one pay check earlier this year. It’s difficult to change from living on two paychecks down to one, but if you can do it, you’ll be able to save a lot of money and have more options.